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My Laundry Room Is Company Ready!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

This room has been a lot of fun for me. I had a vision in my mind and it took some work on my husband's part to help me pull it all together. First of all I had the idea that I wanted no built in cabinets, so we started with a very empty slate - literally! (I'm not going to bother to share any before photos as it was simply an empty room with one plaid wall - remember that?)

I asked my readers; "What would you put on this plaid wall"? I had some great suggestions but the biggest problem with this room is that it is rather narrow and also the passage way from the back porch into the rest of the house. So... there really isn't room to put anything on the wall that will stick out much.

A couple years ago I bought these darling vintage day of the week tea towels and I thought they were the perfect thing for this wall! I hung a piece of rope on two hooks, hung my towels over the rope and used vintage clothes pins to attach them.

They are precious and I love them and what they've done for that wall. I actually sort of like the plaid wall now!

The other wall has my washer and dryer. (Yes they are new and yes I love the old fashioned kind of washer and dryer!) I wanted open shelves above them for my vintage enamelware that I've had for years and years.

Most of this enamelware came from my mother, I've added a few things, and the rest was gifts from friends that know how much I love it!

I love the colors of this bowl and kettle. They just make me so happy!

I love the vintage clothes pins, coke bottles and Seven-Up crate. They all have special meaning to me. (I actually keep my laundry soap and supplies in that crate, but I took them out for the pictures!)

The red dust pans came from a favorite little store of mine that is now just an hour away - but before we moved to Tennessee I would fly out to Alabama to visit my daughter and we'd drive to Bell Buckle, TN just to go in this one little store.

My favorite thing in the room is my stand alone pantry that Eldon built for me. I told him what I wanted and I think he was a little skeptical, but he drew up some plans and built it (the whole time asking me - "Are you sure you want a screen door on it?"!)

He just bought a $20 wood screen door at Lowe's and I painted it red and waxed it with Annie Sloan dark wax. I am so totally in love with it. Not just the looks, but the function of it!

I love having my home canned goods where they are visible because they are so pretty. I also love using my vintage blue Ball jars to store things in. It is really quite big and has a ton of space. I also have room on the top shelf for my extra large pressure canning cooker and a few other things. The bottom shelf (somehow not seen in the picture) is extra tall so I have a few metal baskets with paper towels in one, potatoes and onions in the others.

On the top of the cabinet there is room to display my large enamelware pots that my daugther in law gave me.

Its a stand alone cabinet that is not connected to the wall anywhere. Eldon backed the inside of the cabinet with bead board which I painted white.

The open shelves butt up against it on one side. Eldon built the sides with inset bead board, so that it matches my kitchen cabinets. You can kind of see that in the above picture.

I love my laundry room. It was absolutely the picture I had in my mind and I'm so happy to have it finished!

As for the rest of the rooms in the house? Well.... I am getting there! Obviously I have everything unpacked and put away. But I discovered that 2 years of building a house and using my brain in a complete different way really shut my creative juices off! I've been enjoying all kinds of hours in my craft room and things are starting to flow again so maybe, just maybe I will get some great inspiration! So... hopefully in the next few weeks I'll be posting some other room reveals!

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32 comments:

Dori...this is hands down my favorite laundry room in all of blogland! The pantry and screen door is just fantastic! And I like the plaid wall, I'm glad you kept it. The towels are darling. I love enamelware and this is the perfect place to have it. It gives your laundry room a vintage feeling that goes with the towels and brings back memories of "wash day"! Great job!

You did a great job on this! Love all the canned food..the colors, the jars, the enamel, all of it! As you " settle in for the winter" all your ideas you had will come back to you, and you will have no problem finishing up and decorating the other rooms. Seems as if we have to stop and do something else for awhile, you can loose the ideas for a bit, but they always come back! Happy you are having fun in your new house! Always enjoy your blog, Patty

You've made a great space! I especially love your red screen door. I have wanted a screen door to my craft room to keep the pets out. Hubby doesn't have the same vision, so it's not there....yet! Maybe someday!!

You just gave me an idea for a curtain valance in my own laundry room. I have vintage towels... and had no idea of what to do (best!) with them. (I blogged about them once- "On every day that ends in "Y"").

Dori, what a lovely laundry room.. the only problem for me is I would never get the laundry done from drooling to much :) ... I love the red door and yes you are exactly right, Home Canned goods need to be seen... such a wonderful beauty... Your house is amazing .... and I am sure you love living close to your children...and grandbabies...

It's the most wonderful laundry room ever!! i love that you love red (because I love red, tee hee) and I love the vintage towels and the enamelware and the red screen on your pantry....it's just perfect!!!

Hi Dori~~~Your laundry room is absolutely the most adorable space I've seen lately. I love what you did with the towels & I love the pantry & red screen door!! The enamelware is so colorful. Supercute!XO, Linda

Like your laundry room! I have the same towels on the wall in my laundry room, hung exactly the same way! I also have the same new washer and dryer, a little orange kettle like your green one, like brown jugs, etc...My mom's popcorn bowl is like one of your enamel bowls, yes, I like your style!

It's perfect and so "you"! Love the red door - once again - you did great! Love your calf story too - I could write a daily journal entry on what happens with our cows around here - there's always a "cow" story. Hope Walter continues to grow and thrive - looks like he is off to an incredible start!

I read this post and wanted to comment on it AWHILE ago but I didn't get a chance. I am in love with how you decorated this space! And I want those adorable set of towels. I had to show Chris these pictures because everything is pretty and perfectly cozy! This may be my favorite room of your farmhouse. <3

Our newly purchased 100 year old farmhouse has a laundry room just off the back porch just like yours (it is an enclosed part of the porch) and looks to be the same width. I have envisioned adding a pantry on the end wall and really like what you have done with yours.